Northway crash kills SUV driver

By Jimmy Vielkind

Updated 6:35 am, Monday, October 1, 2012

WILTON — A Ballston Spa man died Sunday afternoon when his SUV careened off the Northway, State Police said.

Seth K. Ramsdill, 42, was pronounced dead after emergency crews arrived at the crash site shortly after 2:43 p.m., State Police Sgt. Thomas Paton said. Two of the highway's three northbound lanes were closed between exits 15 and 16 as troopers investigated the crash, but the road was fully reopened by 6 p.m.

Paton said another driver saw Ramsdill attempt to change lanes, overcorrect and eventually lose control of his Ford Explorer. The SUV rolled over several times before the driver's side collided with a tree near the Northway shoulder. No other vehicles were involved in the incident, Paton said.

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Ramsdill was raised on farm near Saratoga Springs and was a career musician, his brother, Chris Ramsdill, said. He spent over 10 years in Jacksonville, Fla., strumming folk, rock and blues on the guitar, bass and banjo.

"He could play anything with a string on it," Chris Ramsdill. "He was a very funny, outgoing guy with tons of friends."

Seth Ramsdill was playing in the area, but recently complications from hemophilia made it harder for him to carry and set up equipment for solo shows, his brother said.

He was pronounced dead by Saratoga County Coroner John DeMartino at the scene of the crash. An autopsy will take place Monday morning at Saratoga Hospital.

Paton, citing a witness, said Ramsdill appeared to be speeding at the time of the incident, which along with rain-soaked pavement led him to lose control of the SUV.